Morocco, 2026

Morocco, January-February 2026: Days 7 to 13 of the trek

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Day 7:

Mohamed and Ahmed finishing to pack our camp.

Oumar hiking near nomadic shelters.

In the plain between waypoints 46 and 47 (four photos below)

Grave.

Acacia tree.

Long stone field before reaching waypoint 48.

Cultivated palm grove near waypoint 48.

Another cultivated palm grove near waypoint 49.

Marabout (tomb of a saint or wise man) along the way.

Shrub called calotropis procera. Its fruits are globes named ″apples of Sodom″, whose skin contains a toxic sap.

Buildings in the abandoned village of Bou Rbia, where we set our seventh camp (waypoint 51). Unlike the abandoned village of our previous camp, here the buildings are large and imposing. Why did people leave: better prospects elsewhere, a lack of water, or something else?

Left: Inside a house. Right: Well-preserved ceiling, made of reeds and palm trunks.

Mosque of the former village: interior arches, mihrab (prayer niche) seen from the interior, and outer wall of the mihrab.

Kasbah, fortified buildings used as residences and granaries.

Our seventh camp, set up next to the Bou Rbia village, on its southern side (waypoint 51).

Day 8:

An acacia tree backlit before sunrise.

One of our camels and buildings of Bou Rbia next to our seventh camp just before sunrise.

The same buildings illuminated at sunrise.

After leaving our campsite, we crossed an 8km-wide plain between waypoints 51 and 52. On the other side of this plain rises Jebel Bani, a long, narrow subrange of the Anti-Atlas, beyond which lies the Sahara. On the rest of the day and the next two days we will hike along the Jebel Bani toward the east.

Five successive photos of the plain, taken in different directions, each with Jebel Bani in the background.

We climbed Jebel Bani to reach the gap visible on the left of the photo below.

Another picture of the plain, taken here looking north, with Bou Rbia in the far background.

View over the plain toward the north from waypoint 52, at the start of the ascent of Jebel Bani.

Views over the plain toward the north and the east from the ridge of Jebel Bani at waypoint 53.

More or less flat terrain on top of Jebel Bani.

A sheepfold around a large rock formation just before reaching our eighth campsite.

Our eighth campsite (waypoint 55), seen from the top of a small hill. The arrangements of the stones on the ground and the presence of nearby sheepfolds indicate the site is occasionally used as a camp by nomads.

Sheepfolds seen from the same hill.

Pool of water near the camp.

Rock formations near the camp.

Day 9:

Ahmed starting to load the camels at sunrise.

Sunrise over the surrounding cliffs.

Ancient pictograms in a large rock cavity.

Well.

Hiking on the flat top of Jebel Bani.

Filing water at another well (waypoint 59).

Nomadic camp.

Acacia tree at an occasional nomadic campsite.

An intriguing geometric arrangement of stones at the campsite. What is its purpose: artistic, religious, a playground, a pastime, something else?

Small canyon carved into the flat top of Jebel Bani.

Water resurgence with high salt content,

Natural palm grove where we established our ninth camp.

My tent in the palm grove (waypoint 63).

Day 10:

Our large tent at the ninth campsite in the early morning.

One of our camels before sunrise.

Flat-topped mountains seen from the palm grove at the start of the hiking day.

Looking back toward the palm grove.

Rocky terrain, but easy to walk through.

Passing by another palm grove as we approached the flat-topped mountains.

Rocky ground with an unusual pattern.

Another intriguing geometric arrangement of stones.

Well in a small palm grove.

Reaching the flat-topped mountains.

Ahmed, Mohamed and our two camels can be seen on the trail, slightly above the middle of the photo, much ahead of Oumar and me.

Day 11:

Mountains lit by the rising sun, seen from our 10th campsite (waypoint 72).

Crossing a small, but rocky pass at waypoint 74.

Break at a well.

Our main tent at the eleventh campsite (waypoint 79).

Day 12

Sunrise colors.

That day, we left Jebel Bani. We traversed a long, flat, rocky, monotonous expanse at the northern edge of the Sahara. Only toward the end of the hike, we crossed two sand dune areas. We spent our twelfth night in a permanent camp, one of many such camps in this part of Morocco. The area around Mhamid (south of the camp) attracts many tourists with quad bikes, buggies, and motorcycles. Fortunately, we hardly saw any, but we could hear their incessant noise coming from the vicinity of Mhamid. We also were the only guests at the permanent camp.

Tumulus (ancient grave).

Last set of dunes before reaching the permanent campsite at waypoint 92.

Next to the campsite was a camel farm. So, several female camels were roaming around with their young.

Day 13

On the morning of the 13th day, our two camels were returned to their owner near Mhamid. A car arranged by Oumar drove back Ahmed (a hired camel driver) to his home north of Tagounite. Another 4WD vehicle brought Mohamed and the camping/cooking gear to our final campsite (at waypoint 98). The same vehicle left Oumar and me along the way at the waypoint 93, which was the starting point of our last hiking day.

View of the pass crossed shortly after waypoint 93. At waypoint 94, this pass is located near the eastern end of Jebel Bani. Its Berber name means ″pass of the tumuli″, because its southern slope is dotted with numerous tumuli (ancient graves).

View toward the Sahara from the pass.

Views from the north of the section of Jebel Bani west of the pass.

Portion of a palm grove at waypoint 95, south of the village of Zaouia Sidi Saleh.

Village of Zaouia Sidi Saleh. It is a large compact group of adobe houses.

In the narrow alleys of Zaouia Sidi Saleh.

Zaouia Sidi Saleh also includes several long, poorly lit alleys covered by buildings. Left: Oumar at the entrance to one of these alleys. Center and right: Inside covered alleys.